State inquiry into food insecurity hears calls for greater help at schools

Victorian children are showing up with empty lunchboxes as the cost-of-living ­crisis deepens, prompting calls for the state government to step in.

Submissions to the state inquiry into food insecurity warned that children are going hungry. Picture: iStock

Children across the state are going to school hungry and showing up with empty lunch boxes as the cost-of-living ­crisis deepens, prompting calls for the state government to step in and expand school food programs.

Multiple submissions to the state inquiry into food insecurity have warned that children are going hungry and that, in some cases, teachers were dipping into their own pockets to help them eat.

In one submission, Regional Food Security Alliance chair, Cathie Steele said the food ­crisis had been worsening over the past decade but accelerated after Covid. She warned that current school food programs were “fragmented” and that many schools were relying on local charities.

She called for schools to be directly funded by the Department of Education to enable them to help desperate students and to also purchase local food.

School food programs are ‘fragmented’ and many schools are relying on local charities.

“Schools know best what they need and how they can integrate into their food programs,” Ms Steele said.

“So localised purchasing system, rather than a current, centralised system of food into schools, should be implemented.”

The Victorian Council of ­Social Service wrote to the inquiry warning the problem was worsening and that “there is a strong case to extend the ­current positive investment in the Victorian government’s School Breakfast Clubs Program to improve the school food system and achieve better outcomes for children and young people.”

CEO Juanita Pope said: “Kids are going to school with empty bellies.

“Sitting in class hungry makes it almost impossible to concentrate and learn.

“It makes sense to use kinders and schools to combat food insecurity where we can.

“The Victorian government hasn’t created food insecurity, but it has lots of power to fix systems and help families.”

Many Victorian parents also have written to the inquiry personally detailing the struggle of feeding their family.

One mother said she regularly skipped meals to feed her two children. Another said her grocery bill meant she had to spend money on her child’s food rather than shoes.

She said the school sent her child home in new shoes without holes, labelling it as the “lowest” moment in her life.

Other parents revealed they were no long able to purchase nutritious meals, instead feeding their children instant ­noodles and processed cereals because it was more affordable.

Foodbank chief commercial officer Katie Fisher said “without a doubt” that Victorian families were struggling much more now.

“We are now seeing food insecurity in every pocket in the state,” she said.

“We’re are now seeing parents that are feeding their kids, but not themselves.

“They are telling the kids they will have dinner after they go to bed.”

“And what we are seeing with these programs like the breakfast clubs and food pantries is that they are going into suburbs where there hasn’t historically been a need for food.”

The Labor government offers a taxpayer funded breakfast program, started in 2016, which received a $21.1m boost in the 2024-25 state budget to include all government schools that opt in across Victoria.

More than 1000 schools currently participate in the breakfast program and a further 150 are expected to sign up in the coming year.

Education Minister Ben Carroll said it was a an approach that was helping Victorian children.

“Whether it’s breakfast, lunch or a healthy snack, School Breakfast Clubs make a huge difference to students whose families need a little extra support to give their children nutritious meals that power their school day.”

Originally published as State inquiry into food insecurity hears calls for greater help at schools